Heritage Pantry Series: Leather Britches Preservation of Beans

Rideau’s Rearview, By CJ Rooney

For the next number of editions of Rideau’s Rearview, we are going to explore what you may find in a heritage home pantry, and different methods of food preservation, as we get to the end of summer and into autumn.

This week, we will be examining a method of preservation for green beans, called Leather Britches. This method involves the long-term storage of green beans without the need for canning equipment. This method is particularly useful if you have only a small quantity of green beans harvested at one time, as you can add to it as you harvest more.

Once you have your beans picked, you take and thread them by the tip onto a string. (Similar to making Christmas popcorn garland, but you only thread the tip of the bean.) Repeat until all your beans are strung. Hang the string vertically near a woodstove, or in a warm, dry place. Rotate the  beans horizontally on the string, so that they are spread out from each other, to allow air movement. Once the beans are sufficiently dry (after a few weeks) you can remove them from the string, and store in a container. To use the beans, soak overnight (or as long ahead as possible) to rehydrate. Boil beans in the water you soaked them in, to ensure you get all the nutrients.

So, if you visited the home of your friends or family members around this time of year as the beans are being picked, you may notice some decorative garland, not of the usual popcorn and cranberries, but of green beans, getting ready to be enjoyed year long. At least, that’s what you’d see if you took a glance in Rideau’s Rearview.

UPCOMING HERITAGE EVENTS:

Milling Demonstration @ Watson’s Mill (Sundays 1-3pm)

(SUBMISSIONS WELCOME: If you have anything you’d like to see covered in this column, or have information you think may be of interest, call 692-4036.